What happened yesterday is a mystery. Since we’re not sure what happened, we naturally make assumptions. We do what any good detective would do, me deduce. In English, when we assume about past situations, we use the following structure:
modal verb + present perfect
Similar to present assumptions, we use modal verbs to talk about past possibilities: could, may, might, must. Of course, some modal verbs have a stronger connotation than others.
impossible: couldn’t
possible: could / might / may
definitely: must
Just keep in mind one difference here. While we use can’t for impossible present situations, we use couldn’t in impossible past situations.
Look at the examples below, where we can see this structure.
Tom didn’t come to work yesterday.
He couldn’t have been sick. He couldn’t have missed work.
Impossible, because I saw him yesterday and he was fine
He might have been sick. He might have had an emergency.
Possibly. I’m not sure but it seems like the most logical reason.
He must have been sick. He must have stayed home.
Definitely, because he wouldn’t miss work if wasn’t sick.
It’s elementary, my Dear Watson, isn’t it?!
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